The Museum of Neon Art is by far our favorite art museum in Los
Angeles. It is currently located at the corner of Olympic Blvd. and
Hope St., in downtown L.A. It is the creation of an artist named Lili
Lakich, and showcases works of neon, kinetic, and electric art. There
are always things moving, buttons to push, things sparking, making
noise and so forth. It's a very entertaining place.

We have been fans of the museum ever since first finding it back in
1984. In those days, it was housed in an old warehouse on Traction
Ave., in the gritty
industrial district just east of Alameda Street and Little
Tokyo. Now, the old location is Lili Lakich's private studio.
For a few years in the early '90s, they moved to Universal Studios
Citywalk.
We never thought the
museum
went well at Citywalk, since everything else there is part of a
mass-market chain designed to trap tourists. MONA is something
different. It is unique to L.A., and stands on its own. In 1995, they
closed the Citywalk location and moved the museum back downtown to its
present location.

The museum is in what would ordinarily be a commercial space, on the
ground floor of a condominium building. Parking is underground, with
an entrance on of Grand Street, just north of Olympic. Enter the
garage and press the button for the guard. Tell them that you are
there for the museum and they will open the gate.

Exhibits at the museum tend to run for several months at a time, and
generally showcase the works of a particular artist or theme, as well
as some of the pieces from the museum's permanent collection.

The Museum can be found at:
501 West Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 489-9918http://www.neonmona.org
August 24, 1998